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LETTER OF HON. R. J. WALKER, 



ON THE PURCHASE OF 



ALASKA, ST. THOMAS AND ST. .JOHN 

[From the W^'shington Daily WLorninsi- Chronicle, Jan. 28, 1868.] 



Washington City, January ;J4, 1SG8. 

The question of the acquisition of Alaska. 
aad of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, 
will be discussed in this letter. The Alaska 
treaty was deemed so promotive of all the 
;.^reat interests of the country, as to have been 
ratified by the Senate of the United States, ac- 
cording to the published vote, with a near ap- 
proach to unanimity. Since the ratification of 
the treaty, the reports of our explorations, re- 
cently filed among the public archives, have 
more than confirmed all previous statements, 
and demonstrated the immense value of Alaska. 
The climate, tempered by, the Patific gulf 
stream, is found to be most salubrious, and as 
mild as that of this city. It has as manygood 
harbors as all our Atlantic coast, and one, (free . 
from ice,) believed to be the best in the world. 
It has coal of the best quality, upon the 
banks of navigable streams, and In immediate 
proximity to the ocean, thus furnishing one 
clement indispensable to the command of the 
commerce of Asia and the Pacific. Its timber 
is excellent and abundant, including pine 
and cedar of the best quality, and its fisheries 
are unsurpassed. As a grazing country, its 
.advantages are. great. Potatoes and the root 
crops are produced in abundance, and so are 
tke^ereals, except Indian corn. It must be 
the great fur country of the world; it abounds 
in gold and copper, and the geological struc- 
ture indicates the presence of other minerals. 
Such are some of the material interests in- 
voked, but perhaps, even more important, are 
those considerations which so deeply concern 
our maritime, commercial, aud political su- 
premacy. 

The ultimate struggle 'for the command of 

the commerce and exchanges of the world, is 

,^ to be decided mainly upon the Pacific, and, the 

acquisition of Alaska, includini; the Aleutian 

S has immensely strengthened our position 

liat ocean. It carries us half-way across 

■ ,' Pacific, aud within a few days of China 

;■.' J Japan. The climate of these islands is 



most genial and salubrious, and many excel- 
lent harbors are found there. We own now 
the whole western Pacific coast, from Lower 
California to the Arctic sea, except British 
Columbia, which, (against my earnest protest 
in the Cabinet,) was ceded to Entrlandin 1846. 
I say ceded, for our title to the whole of Oregon, 
from the forty-second parallel northward to 
Russian America, was in truth "clear and t!n- 

iquestiouable." But, possessing now the whole 
western Pacific coast, from the thirty-second 
parallel of north latitude to the Arctic, except 
the intervening distance from 49 to 54 40, now 
a British colony, it must come to us evcntua'ly, 
by a commercial and political attraction, which 
is as irresistible as the law of gravitation. 
British Columbia was lost to us by. the mo«t 
unfortunate diplomacy, extending through a 
long period of time; but Alaska can only be 
sacrifled by the fossil remains of a party, not 
yet quite extinct, which, in 1782, would have 
made the Ohio our boundary, and, in 1787, 
would have confined us withiu the original 
limits of the Republic, east of the Mi?sissipiM, 
and north of the thirty-first parallel of north 
latitude. 

When the articles of Confederation wore 
formed in 177S, the following provision was 
inserted : "Canada, acceding to this Confeder- 
ation, and joining iu the measures of the United 
States, shall be admitted into and entitled to 
all the advantages of this Union; but no other 
colony shall be admitted into tha same unless 
such admission be agreed to by nine States.'' 
These articles were signed by all the thirteen 

^original States, proving, first, that, during our 
revolutionary .struggle, the influence of slavery 
must have been very limited, or Canada would 
not have been nnaultnonshj invited into the 
Union; second, that the power which would 
otherwise restrict our boundaries, had only 
suftlcient influence to insert'in these articles, a 
clause, requiring the consent of nine States 
to the admission of any other colony. The 
surrender of Corawallis at Yorklown, in 17S1, 



cldsed, in fact, our war for independence; yefc^ 
the treaty of peace with England was not 
signed until 1783.- This was owing;, mainly, 
to the fact, that Great Britain insisted for a 
long time, on making the Ohio river our wes- 
tern boundary. This would have left to Eng- 
land the territory now comprising the States 
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wiscon- 
ain, and a considerable portion of Minnesota, 
iais also of western New Tork and western 
Peii'nsylvania, and would have cut us off from 
all the lakes, except Ontario. There was 
then a- considerable party of restriction- 
ists, iflcioding many, so anxious for 
peace, as to have dbusented to this bound- 
ary, to which England long adhered, until 
the American negotiators, Benjamin Franklin, 
JoUu Adams4 and John Jay, infqrpied the 
l^ritish commissioner, David Hartley, that the 
Ohio boundary would never be accepted, when 
that of the lakes was finally inserted in the 
treaty. This was the first great effort of the 
■party, advocating a limited area, as best suited 
for a Ilepublic, which idea is not yet qiaite ex- 
'tiact. Had this party succeeded, we never 
"could have been the leading power on this con- 
sinftt, and the late rebellion must have tri- 

When the Federal Constitution was framed 
in 1787, an effort was made by the restriction- ^ 
ists, first, to require the assent of two-thirds of 
the State? to the admission of any new State; 
second, as moved by Mr. Rutledge, of South 
Carolina, to limit the power of admitting new 
States, to territory within our then existing 
boundaries. But both limitations were rejected, 
and, upon motion of Goijverneur Morris, of 
Pennsylvania, it wiisprovided.tbat "new States 
may be admitted by the Congress into the 
Union," thus leaving the power of extension 
and annexation unlimited. At the close of 
the American Revolution and the peace of 1783 
tlie area of the whole Union was less than 800,- 
oao square miles, and our settlements were 
contined almost exclusively to the limited re- 
gion east of the Alleghan^es. Since that period, 
our area, including Alaska, has been more 
thau quadhipled, and our coast line is more 
than eight times greater thau in 1783. But 
for the opposition of xVew EnglaDd,(so patriotic, 
courageous, and distinguished in our revom- 
tionarv strugele,) to the war of 1813, we shoula 
IhCH have conquered Canada, and, as a conse- 
quence, would now hold all BriiisTi America. 
Bat for the discordant element of slavery, as 
shown bv the votes and speeches of Mr. Cal- 
houn, we should have retained tha whole of 
Mexico after its conquest in 1847. Had we, 
then, always been true to ourselves, our area, 
including Mexico and British. America, would 



■^ ^'^t Jew, 

juare miles, I 



nearly have reached 8,(500,009 square miles, 
and our population would have approximated ] 
70,000,000. We would have been the richest. \ 
and most po'sjerful nation of the earth, the in-' | 
ternational equilbrium question would have 
been settled iu our favor, and the combined . 
monarchies of the world could not have suc- 
cessfully assailed us. That the European 
monarchies "must unite" to resist our progress, 
has just been formally announced in the French 
Senate. 

When the Articles of Confederation were 
framed, our population was less than one- fourth 
of that of North and Sputh America; now, we 
number as many people as are found in all the 
rest of both the continents. This relative rate 
of progress indicates with unerring certainty, 
where the course of events will take us before 
the close of this century. 

At the peace of 1733, our limits on the west, 
were the Mississippi river down to the 31st 
parallel of north latitude, which was then sub- 
stantially our southern boundary. The Flori- 
das. and Louisiana, (including Texas,) were 
•European colonies, excluding us entirely from 
the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans, Mobile, and 
Pensacola were foreign cities. The mouth of 
the Mississippi and all west of that river tothe 
Pacific, were held by European dynasties. So, 
also, wasthe eastern bank of that imperialriver 
for more than three hundred miles from its 
mouth, and eastward to the Atlantic. Our coast 
on that ocean was only about one- tenth part of its 
eastern American shores, and the Gulf of 
Mexico was an European sea. Who would 
•DOW have us shrink within our original limits, 
recall our flag from the Pacific or the Gulf, 
surrender any of our acquired territory, and 
■dwarf the limits of the Republic ? Confined 
witjhin our original limits, our area would ' 
have been about one-fourth that of British 
America, extending from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, one-fourth of the Emj^ire of Brazil, 
less than one-half that t)f Mexico, *fcd less 
than one-twentieth of the American conti- 
nents. We shoiild have been surrounded on 
all sides by neighboring American natiftn-, 
more wealthy and populous than our own. 
•The European system of the balance of power 
would have been introduced on the^e cpnti- 
nents, the monarchies of the Old World would 
have stirred up strife among us, and war would 
have been our normal condition. From the.^e 
disasters we have been thus far saved by the 
annexation and extension policy. But, our 
security is %ot complete, until we shall have 
embraced at least the whole North American 
continejit, including the railroad and ship 
canal at the li/thmus of ranama and Darkn, 
and, through the telescopic glass of Isss than 



f' /VVY'^ 



half a century, in the prophetic words of 
Alexander Hamilton, "ultimately equinting at 
South America." 

I do not desire annexation by anunrighteoils 
war, or by any species of injastice ; for, in the 
providence of God, there surely comes retribu- 
tive punishment for all iniquity, individual, or 
national. Bu*., I do wish to see my country 
fulfil her destiny, by spreading the blessings of 
liberty and of the Constitution peacefully over 
the American continents, placing her beyond 
the power of any monarchical combinations, 
with iraesiotible ability for good, and no mo- 
tive for evil or aegression. When that day 
.shall have arrived, as come it surely will, if 
we are truetootfi'selves, may we not hope, that, 
under the moral influence of our example and 
success, all other nations will ultimately enjoy 
the blessings of constitutional liberty aud self- 
government. These views arc entertained in 
no spirit of aggression, but, because it is clear, 
that, whilst such a result would confer count- 
less blessings upon- my own country, it would 
also advance the interests and promote the 
happiness of the whole brotherhood of man. - 

Yet, essential as was the extension policy to 
our welfare, if not to our existence as an inde- 
pendent nation, the various lawB and treaties, 
by which we enlarged our boundaries, were 
fiercely contested, and often escaped defeat by 
small majorities. Our first and greatest ac- 
'lulsition was Louisiana, much more than 
doubling the area of the Republic ; yet, the 
oppobition was violent and powerful, and Mr. 
Jefferson was ridiculed, denounced, and lam- 
pooned in prose and verse, (worse than Mr. 
Seward.) for making this treaty. Yet, what 
American would now surrender Louisiana, with 
its million of square miles, and its numerous 
States and Territories? But, in this case, as 
in all others, the anti-annexation policy, though 
powerful at the time, was always ultimately 
condemned with great unanimity by the people. 
Scarcely was the annexation accomplished, as 
regards all our acquisitions, when tjie multi- 
plied piop'hecies of evil all vanished, aud 
countless blessings and benefits flowed in upon 
the whole people of the United States. 

We have seen, that, when the Constitution 
was framed in ITijT, this same anti-annexation 
party endeavored to confine our limits Avithin 
our then existing territory, but x^as defeated 
through the instrumentality of Washington, 
Franklin, Hamilton, and Madison. In June, 
1797, Alexander Hamilton addressed a letter 
to Dr. McHcnry, then Secretary of War, in 
which he said, "Btsides eventual security 
against invasion, we ought to look certainly to 
the possession of the TLoridas and Louisiana, 
and we oi»ght to squint at South America." 



This original letter, all in the handwriting 
of Mr. Hamilton, obtained from the family of 
Dr. McHenry, was handed to me in 1845 by 
Alexander Hamilton, the son of the great 
statesman, and was first read by me in Feb- 
ruary, 1845^ in the debate in the Senate of the 
United States on the annexation of Texas. 
When Louisiana was acquired, INEr. Jeflfersou 
was President of the United States, James 
Madison was Secretary of State, James Mon- 
roe Minister to France. Thus, we have seen, 
that the patriots of the Revolution, and the 
fathers and founders of this Republic, were 
nearly all extensionists. They looked for- 
ward, as we have seen, to the period, when 
both the continents of America and all the 
dependent isles should be embraced within the 
boundaries of the Union. W^e have seen how 
fierce was the opposition to the annexation of 
Louisiana, Texas, and Florida; yet, when they, 
together with the South, attempted to secede, 
we expended, during the late rebellion, billions 
of treasure, and sacrificed thousands of lives, 
to retain them all in the Union. 

A few feeble utterances were then indeed 
heard in the North, saying, 7o< them rjo. Bat 
the American people would not consent to dis- 
iuteurate#the Republic, to Jet Florida or auy 
of the Southern States secede, or dismember 
the Valley of the West. No; where our flag is 
once unfurled, there it must float fc^rever. 

We have had two antagonistic principles, , 
constantly at work, since aud during the war 
of the Revolution. These wtre disintegration, \ 
-f ecession, and disunion on the one hand, and 
the maintenance, perpetuation, nnd extension 
of the Union on the other. The expansion 
aud limitation of the area of the Union had 
their first struggle, as we have seen, in frarainj; 
the Articles of Confederation in i77S. Th« 
second was when our boundaries were fixed by 
the treaty of 178o; the third was in 1787, 
whp the Constitution was formed and ratified. 
The same antagonism was again exhibited In 
•lbO;>, when Louisiaua was acquired; again, in 
1S'?1, when we purchased Florida, but relia- 
quished Texas; and. in 1S45, when Texas was 
again received into the Union; in 1S48, when 
California was ceded to us with a vast adja- 
cent territory, but with the unfortunate aban- 
donment of the rest of Mexico, which we had 
conquered and occupied, and should have re- 
tained; and, . finally, in Arizona in iSS^i. 
There, before the ratification of the treaty, the 
Senate amended it by strilving from i^ most 
unfortunately, all that most important portion 
of the Territory to be acquired, bprdering for a 
great distance upon the "Gulf of California, 
leaving Lower California a broken wing to 
Mexico. On every occasion, thelJ, when we 



have acquired territory, there was a struggle 
between these two contending principles. If 
we look at the causes affecting the action of 
parties at these various periods, we will find, 
that slavery had nothing to do with it in 1778, 
1783, and 17S7. The opposition to the acqui- 
sition of Louisiana was geographical and 
anti-slavery. The loss of the Canadas and 
British America was occasioned by hostility to 
the war of 1812, and by the ferocious spirit of 
party, rousing the passions, and, for a time, 
obscuring the judgment even of great and good 
men. In 1821, Texas was relinquished, partly 
from geographical, but mainly from anti- 
slavery opposition. In 18-15, the opposition to 
the reauriexatiou of Texas, was based mainly 
upon anti-slavery grounds. In 1816, in con- 
nection with the unfortunate action of pre- 
ceding administrations, Oregon, north of the 
49th parallel, was lost to the Union. In 1848, 
the treaty by which Mexico was surrendered, 
would have been defeated, but for the support 
of Mr. Calhoun, and many of the slavery 
propagandists. Their argument was this: 
that, if Mexico was all retained and annexed 
to the Union, the States to be carved out of it, 
would all be free States, because Mexico, by an 
unanimons vote, had abolished slavery. It 
seems quite certain, that, if Mexico (as urged 
by me in the Cabinet) had been retained as part 
of the Union, the pro-slavery rebellion of 1861 
would have been impossible. 

Commingling with the slavery and geo- 
graphical questions, was another, quite power- 
ful in its influence heretofore, and not yet quite 
extinct. It was that party, distrustful of the 
people, who doubted their capacity to main- 
lain successfully a republican form of govern- 
ment when extended over a large area. By 
them, t'he example of the fall of Greece and 
Rome was often quoted, forgetting that Rome 
did-not fall until centuries after she ceased to 
be a republic; and that Greece fell by secession 
and disintegration, and the weakness of the 
Achiean League. It must be remembered, also, 
that, the colonies of Greece and Rome were 
mere military provinces, held and governed by 
the sword through .military pro-consuls. Be- 
sides, then they had no steamers, no railroads, 
no telegraphs; the art of printing was unknown, 
and not one in the ten thousand of the people 
could write or read even the few manuscripts 
then in ^existence. All this is changed now, 
and the hrea of the Union, by various instru- 
mentalities constantly progressing, is traversed 
now more easily au'd quickly, than the distance 
between BuffJo and New York, when the Con- 
stitution was founded. Besides, our form of 
government, national for national purposes, 
with a Congress at Washington, and State gov- 



ernments for local purposes, is better adapted 
for diffusion over a continent, than contraction 
within a limited space. Nor does the distance 
of the States from the national capital consti- 
tute asy difficulty. Indeed, whilst States near 
and adjacent to Washington, during the rebel- 
lion, assailed the Government, those most dis- 
tant from it, including the States of the great 
Northwest and of the Pacific, gave it a most 
loyal and generous support. As to diversity 
of products causing opposing interests, it is 
just the reverse, for, it is this very interchange 
of products, growing out of diversity, that binds 
the Union together in the bonds of that free 
trade among the States, established by the 
Constitution, where our cotton is sold for our 
breadstuffs and provisions, and btjth for oui' 
manufactures. 

Whilst the history of annexation in the 
United States, shows various obstacles by 
which it has been retarded, yet, the chief 
among these, was the discordant element of 
slavery. Thus it was, that, whilst the free 
States, to a great extent, opposed the acquisi- 
tion of slave territory, the slave States opposed 
the annexation of free territory. But for these 
opposing principles, our area would be far 
greater than it now is. In extinguishing sla- 
very, then, we have removed the principal cause 
which retarded the progress of annexation. 
We take a new departure now, and enter upon 
a new career of progress. We see already the 
good effects of the disappearance of this insti- 
tution, in the almost unanimous vote of the 
Senate by which the Alaska treaty was ratified. 
Before the extirfction of slavery, that treaty 
would have been defeated, upon the samfe prin- 
ciple that Oregon north of the 49th parallel 
was ceded to England, and Mexico surrendered 
after the conquest. Aud now let us not sub- 
stitute for slavery, the baneful influence of 
sectional passions and prejudices; for, if the 
Western and Pacific States oppose Eastern ac- 
quisitions, such as St. Thomas, Cuba, Canada, 
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the East 
would retaliate, and vote against the purchase 
of British Columbia, the Sandwich Islands, or 
any portion of Mexico. There is no real an- 
tagonism of interest between the States, and 
any other doctrine leads to strife and disunion- 

But,'it is said, that, we should not complete 
the purchase, because we are in debt. If so, 
our territorial progress will be retarded for at 
least half a century ; for, it is quite certain, 
that our debt will not be extinguished within 
that period. In the meantime, we alone, of 
all the great nations of the world, are to re- 
main stationary. Upon the same principle, we 
must not, for half a century, acquire British 
Columbia, or the Canadas, or »the Sandwich 



Islands, nor Caba, nor any portion of Ivlexico, 
nor a single coal or naval or commercial depot, 
and as a consequence, let our commerce perish. 
Why, there is not one of these acquisitions 
that would not hasten the extinguishment of 
our debt, by the increase of our wealth and 
power, our commerce and revenue. 

The treaty now before the Senate, establish- 
ing reciprocal free trade between us and the 
Sandwich Islands, is of great importance, and 
foreshadows the early acquisition by us of 
those valuable islands, for coaling depots and 
half-way ports to China. Those rich and beau- 
tiful islands, in our posscf sion, would furnish 
us, not only with sugar, many tropical pro- 
ducts, and raw material for manufactures, but 
would become considerable markets for our 
fabrics, our lumber, our coal, as also our bread- 
stuflFs and provisions. 

According to the estimate of the political 
economists of Europe, the average value pro- 
duced by each human being, over consumption, 
is 81,000. At this rate, in additioa to the 
wealth already accumulated, that produced by* 
the 18,000 people of St. Thomas and St. John, 
during the next generation, would be §18,000,- 
000. Supposing the wealth already accumu- 
lated there, during several centuries of most 
proStable tradt^ to be only as much more, this 
would make the whole amount 636,000,000. 
Surely, so large an addition to the wealth of 
the nation, is not to be disrecrarded, in connec- 
tion with the question of our public debt. 

And now I will proceed to the discussion of 
the treaty, by which we would acquire St. 
Thomas and St. John, two of the West India 
group, known as the Virgin Islands, of which 
St. Thomas is the principal. As a depot for 
coal, and a naval and commercial station, St. 
Thomas possesses greater advantages than 
any other of the West India islands. It is the 
point where mo,-t vessels from Europe bound 
to South America, or to the isthmus of Pana- 
ma, or to -the Pacific, by the way of Cape 
Horn, touch for coal and supplies, often taking 
and receiving cargoes, fco, also, with our own 
vessels, bound to the same points, as also to 
Africa, and, by the way of the Cape of Good 
Hope, to Asia and Australia. No island in 
the world, with so small a population, receives 
so large a tonnage, or transacts so great a 
business. It has a splendid harbor, of 
great depth and capacity with a good entrance, 
half a mile wide, that can be easily defended, 
and made a^ impregnable as Gibraltar, both by 
land and sea. There are more vessels, Eu- 
ropean and American, which touch at St. 
Thomas, than at any other of the West Indies. 
The island of St. John is a few miles from St. 
Thomas, and also has a splendid harbor with 



great depth of water; and having a very good, 
but narrow entrance of 800 yards, is susceptible 
of complete defence, and is almost a natural 
dry-dock. These facts, taken from the per- 
sonal observations and admirable memoir of 
Vice Admiral D. D. Porter, are confirmed by 
other authorities. If St. Thomas were ours, It 
would soon be placed in telegraphic communi- 
cation with us; and, with augmented busineea, 
would rapidly become a considerable comnn.r- 
cial city. It is on the test route to South America, 
to Africa, to Asia, and Australia. As an etUrepoi 
lor international trade, it has one of the best 
locations in the world. There is no barbor in 
which vessels can coal so rapidly, and now, that 
steamers are taking the place of sailing ves- 
sels, we mast have coal depots at various pointo 
in the Atlantic and Pacific, or abandon the 
commerce of both oceans. England has coal 
stations and commercial depots on every eea, 
and this is the greatest source of ber wealth 
and prosperity. France and other European 
Powers are rapidly following her example. 
Notwithstanding our magnificent domestic 
trade, it is to our foreign commerce, and the 
tariff basedjpon it,«tbat wc must look mainly 
for the re ^p ie to pay the interest on the pnb- 
lic debt aijPsnpport the Government. If St. 
Thomas fflhd St. John are lost to us now by the 
failure of this treaty, they are lost to us for- 
ever; and, Di nmark being willing to sell, they 
will fall immediately into the hands of France 
or England. During the late rebellion, if St. 
Thomas had been ours, as a point where our 
steamers could go for coal, supplies, and re- 
pairs, or to take prizes, the running of the 
blockade, mainly through the British island of 
Nassau, could not have occurred to any con- 
siderable extent, the war would have been 
more rapidly brought to a conclusion, and 
thousands of lives and millions of treasture 
eaved to the country. Indeed, the difference 
In expense, between agoing to New Tork for 
supplies or repairs, or for coal, or to take 
prizes, and then returning to the blockading 
ground, independent of the time lost and the 
breach of the blockade meanwhile, compared 
with the short run to St. Thomas for the same 
purposes, would have been a much greater 
sum saved, than the whole purchase money of 
these islands. 

The question of the command of the Gulf of 
Mexico and the Caribbean sea, is thus discussed 
in my Texas letter of the 8th of January, 1844 : 
"In the Gulf of Mexico, England has seized, 
in Honduras, large *nd extensive pesseEsione, 
and most commanding positions, overlooking 
from the interior the outlet of the Gulf; whilet 
British Guiana, in South America, stretching 
between the great Oronoco and the mighty 



Amazon, places her in a position, (aided by 
her island of Trinidad, at the month of the 
Oronoco,) to seize npon the outlet of those 
gigantic rivers. With her West iHdia islands, 
from Jamaica, south of Cuba, in a continued 
chain (from Nassau) to the most northern of 
the Bahamas, she is prepared to seize the 
Florida Pass and the Mouth of the Mississippi; 
and let her add Texas and the coast of Texas, 
and her command of the Gulf would be as 
effectual as of the British Channel. It would 
be a British sea; and soon her capital would 
open the great canal which must unite at the 
isthmus the Atlantic and Pacific, and give her 
the key of both the coasts of America." And 
now the press has just announced, that Mr. 
Seward has negotiated a treaty for the con- 
struction of a ship canal at the Isthmus of 
Darien, thus rendering our possession of St. 
Thomas and St. John an imperative necessity. 

Whilst this through-cut ship canal would 
facilitate so much our trade by sea with our 
own .Western coast, and that of Mexico and* 
Central and Southern Amerit'a, it is essential 
for the short passage of onLvyar steamers 
from shore to shore. Having ■^jTved, during 
my recent tour through Egyp^fte rapid pro- 
gress of the ship canal at the IsflJnus of Suez, 
it is clear, that, to insure the coriimand by us 
of the world's commerce, we must make the 
Darien Ship Canal. 

It is said by some, why not purchase Cuba 
instead of St. Thomas and St. John? There 
is no evidence that we can purchase Cuba at 
this time; and, if Cuba were ours, the posses- 
sion of St. Thomas and St. John would be 
siill more important. The best way for ac- 
celerating the acquisition of Cuba and Porto 
Rico, as well as cheapening the price, thus 
terminating slavery there, and, as a conse- 
quence, abolishing the African slave trade, 
would be first to obtain the islands of St. 
Thomas and St. John. This would give us a 
most important and impregnable position in 
the West Indies, bringing us within sight of 
Porto Rico, and within a lew hours by steam 
from Cuba. Indeed, so soon as we acquire 
St. Thomas and St. John, the people of Porto 
Rico would clamor for annexation to the 
United States, and Spain would gladly sell it 
te us on most reasonable terms. The acquisi- 
tion of Cuba would of course speedily follow. 
In 1S06, Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison favored 
the acquisition of Cuba, as did John Quincy 
Adams in 1823. Ind|^d, this great island, so 
essential to all our interests and security, 
would have long since been ours, but for the in- 
tervention of slavery, bringing discord into our 
counsels, and arresting the growth and pro- 
gress of the Republic. But, imder the great 



constitutional amendment abolishing slavery, 
the institution would terminate in Cuba, the 
moment it became a part of the United States. 
Nothing is more certain, than that a large ma- 
jority even of the whites of Cuba, desire the 
abolition of slavery and annexation to the 
United States. The Cubans, with few excep- 
tions, are Americans and republicans, and are 
sick of the oppression and grinding taxation of 
the Spanish Government, as well as the total 
exclusion of the natives from all offices, either 
of honor or emolument. The Government is 
military and despotic, and an immense stand- 
ing army is required to prevent and suppress 
rebellion. The taxes for this purpose, (as well 
as to supply the Spanish exchequer,) which 
are all collected from the people of Cuba, are 
oppressive and intolerable. For these and 
other reasons, an overwhelming majority of 
the people of Cuba desire annexation to the 
United States, and, as a first step in that di- 
rection, have lately petitioned Spain to abolish 
slavery throughout the island. If slavery were 
abolished in Cuba and Porto Rico, it would 
soon disappear from Brazil, the slave trade 
would cease, and thus would the whole eartL. 
be consecrated to freedom. 

In case we should be forced iuto another war 
with England, the possession of St. Thomas 
would be of incalculable benefit. Being a 
small island, encircled by i-eefs, so as to pre- 
vent a landing, except at the opening of the 
harbor, which is easily susceptible of complete 
defence, it would be in fact an ocean Gibraltar. 
It would flank the British port of Nassau, 
whence, during the late rebellion, the British 
blockade-breakers sailed to supply the South 
with the materials of war and subsistence, and 
receive their cotton. In case of such war, the 
fleet of England would concentrate there for 
an attack upon our coast and commerce, to de- 
feat which, the possession of St. Thomas may 
be regarded as indispensable. 

All future Wars in which we may be con 
cerned, must be mainly maritime wars 
not mean by that, conflicts of single ve 
or even of fleets, upon the ocean, but the cap. 
ture of merchant vessels as prizes at sea, the ; 
destruction of the commerce of the enemy, 
and the blockade of their ports. Strong, light, 
and swift steamers, covering the ocean by hun- 
dreds, would annihilate the commerce of the 
enemy. What a single such steamer can do, 
we know by the achievements of the Alabama 
during the rebellion. But, steamers having 
taken the place of sailing vessels, in order to 
carry on such a warfare upon the ocean, coal 
depots at many points, rendered impregnable, 
are indispensable, not only in case of a war 
with England, but with any other Power; for, 



I 



be con- 1 
3. I dol 

vessels,! 
he caD_ 1 



i 



the experience of the late civil war has taught 
us, that, a pretentlcd neutrality, like that oi" 
England during the late conflict, may be al- 
most as dangerous as open war. St. Thomas, 
we have seen, is situated in one of the great 
tracks of our commerce and that of the world, 
and its possession is indispensable to us in 
case of another maritime conflict. Our mines 
of coal are inexhaustible, and of the best 
quality, but, in our anthracite, for naval war- 
fare, we possess advantages over any other 
nation. Steamers are first seen by the smolic, 
which signals their location, whether for at- 
tack or retreat, as also their course on the 
ocean. But, our anthracite makes no smoke, 
and hence such steamers may come much 
closer, unobserved, upon the enemy. But of 
what use is our coal in naval warfare, if we 
have no depots where it can be supplied to our 
steamers? Let us remember, that England is 
the workshop, that lives only by her trade 
with all the world. Her commerce in imports 
and exports, including what she carries for 
other countries, reaches nearly two billions of 
dollars a year. Destroy this trade— which, 
with proper coal depots, our swift war steamers 
and privateers could do— and England falls 
forever. Great as the loss would be, the ex- 
perience of 1807 has proved, that, with' ours 
Immense irfterior resources, we can sumive an 
embargo, but England could not. That this 
question is thoroughly understood in England, 
may be seen by perusing the British press, not 
only that which was hostile, but that, like the 
Star, which was friendly to us during the late 
rebellion. I select the following, which is a 
leading editorial in the London Jforning Star 
of the 17th of December last. 
[From the London Blorning Star, December 17.] 
"The acquisition by the United States of the 
"West Indies islands of St. Thomas and St. John 
is an event of sufllcient gravity to warrant an 
examination into the motives of the nation 
which has acquired a foothold in that region, 
and of the probable future results to the scat- 
tered communities of the area belonging to 
different European powers. We believe when 
the late dicturbances occurred in Jamaica, and 
the press of this country was filled with vio- 
lent denunciations of the negroes, President 
Johnson took advantage of the circumstance 
to sound the late Sir F. Bruce as to the proba- 
bility of our ceding to the United States that 
magnificent, but up to that time ill-governed 
island. The exceedingly cold reception with 
which his overtures were met induced the Presi- 
eent, or rather Mr. Seward, for that astute old 
man is at the bottom of the business, to apply 
to Denmark, where he has been moresucccsful. 
The two islands purchased are by no means the 
best of the Danish possessions — ttie island 
of Santa Cruz, siill left to Denmark, being very 
much larger and more fertile than either of 
the two little islets which have been ceded. 
The object of the United States was clearly not 
10 obtain territory, of which he has enoiigb, 



and to spare. We are, therefore, inclined to 
think that even if the rumored otTcr by Spain 
of Cuba and Porto Kico were true, the Govern- 
ment would not be tempted to buy except upon 
very advantageous terms. The object of the 
recent purcaase is very frankly pointed out 
by President Johnson in his^meseage. He re- 
minds his countrymen that in the War of Inde- 
pendence we were able to gall the struggling 
colonists from our West India stations, that, 
tlie same results happened in 1812, and that in 
the late civil war the West Indies formed the 
rendezvous of blockade-runners, while the 
United States steam vessels, which were watch- 
ing them, could only coal up in their own dis- 
tant harbors. ''With the possession of a good 
and convenient port and harbor in the West 
Indies," argues Mr. Johnson, "neither we nor 
any other American nation need longer appre- 
hend injury or otience from any transatlantic- 
enemy. 

The object of the United States, therefore, '. 
has been to acquire war ports as a protection 
against European enemies, and, in St. Thomas 
and St. John they hare certainly succeeded in 
gaining what they desired. This move on the 
part of the Americans has unquestionably 
altered all the relations between the countries 
in the event of a war,"and is of fifty times 
more importance to England than all the ma- 
noeuvres which have taken place about Turkey 
for the last hitndred years. In the event of ;i 
great cont^lsiou in our own country, occa- 
sioned ^?1the persistent machinations of the 
Americ|»lFeniaus, St. Thomas and St. John 
may beoome convenient shelters from which 
to annoy the commerce of England. Certainly 
in a war with the United States, should that 
calamity ever occur, the possession of these 
two islands would entirely alter the balance of 
power which has hitherto subsiited between 
this country and America. We do not point 
out these results in any spirit of hostility to 
the United States, but rather to show the 
blindnsss and stupidity of the traditional pol- 
icy of the Foreign Office. We are in the act of 
spending millions, under some delusion that in 
doing so we are keeping up our prestige in the 
East Indies, while, without a protest, without 
a murmur, without an exchange of notes, so 
far as we are at present informed, our greatest 
naval rival acquires two islands in the West 
Indies, avowedly as war ports against possible 
transatlantic enemies. 

The presence of the Americans in these lati- 
tudes will be a disturbing cause to the Euro- 
rean Powers in peace as well as in war. Spain 
especially may proceed at once to set her house 
in order. Porto Rico, where slavery still reigns 
with all its hateful features, is the near neigh- 
bor of St. John. Imagine the state of mind 
of the Spanish planters, with a community of 
negroes in the possession of manhood suffrage 
in the next island! Nor can wo escape the 
difBcultics which the advent qf this new neigh- 
bor will certainly cause in the West Indies. 
Already the United States have begun to domi- 
nate the minds of the negroes. They have not 
been inattentive observers of what has been 
passing in the great country -vvhich so lately was 
the chief stay of slavery. They will not watch 
with less jealousy the possession of the fran- 
chise by their lately-emancipated brethren 
when the American flag floats over two of the 
islands in their midst. In addition to what 
may be called the passive propagandism of 



8 



American views, an active and most powerful 
iDfluence will be exerted by the superior com- 
mercial activity of the Americans. Although 
the obtaining ot war ports has been the leading 
idea of thelate acquisition, the intense business 
activityof the Americans will undoubtedly soon 
convert the new colony into a commercial cen- 
tre, where they will amass all the rich produce 
of the neighboring islands before launching it 
upon the markets of the world* What Port 
Royal once was St. Thomas will'soon become 
in the hands of our competitors across the 
Atlantic." 

We are destined, long before the close of 
this century, to have a large and valuable 
traffic with Liberia and the whole coast of 
Africa south of that Republic, and St. Thomas 
and St. John, lyiug immediately in the track 
of that trade, are almost indispensable to us 
for coal and supplies. 

St. Thomas, being a great entrepot for uni- 
versal commerce, would become, in our pos- 
session, a station where vast quantitiss of 
American coal and other of our products would 
be concentrated for the supplies and repairs of 
our own vessels touching there, and those of 
all the world. The consumption of our coal 
and other products would be increased, not 
merely by the demands of the people of those 
islands, but, for a use infinitely greater by all 
the vessels touching or trading there. 

As early as 1707, the Pere Lahat, in his '=Voyif 
ages aux Isles de I'Amerique," said: "Den- 
mark being almost always neutral in the wars 
of Europe, the port of St. Thomas is open to 
all nations. During peace, it serves as an en- 
trepot for the commerce which the French, 
English, Spanish, and Dutch, do not dare to 
pursue openly on their own islands; and in time 
of war it is the refuge of merchant ships when 
pursued by privateers. On the other hand, the 
privateers send their prizes here to be sold 
when they are not disposed to send ihem to a 
greater distance. A great many small vessels 
also proceed from St. Thomas to the coast of 
South America, whence they bring back much 
riches in specie or in bars and valuable mer- 
chandise. In a word, St. Thomas is a market 
of great consequence." All the modern au- 
thorities confirm this statement, and show that 
this commerce has greatly increased. Indeed, 
the merchants of Porto Rico are mere retail 
traders, receiving their supplies mainly from 
the wholesale stores of Bt. Thomas, and 
the same is the case with the entire South 
American coast, from the Orinoco, including 
Trinidad, Margarita, Curacoa, and the Wind- 
ward Islands, to Carthagena and Panama. But 
a small portion of these goods are American; 
but, after annexation, nearly all of them would 
be furnished by us. As regards our trade with 
St. Thomas and St. John, I have only been able 
to obtain tables for the Danish West Indies, 



which include Santa Cruz; but, as will be 
shown hereafter, nearly the whole of this 
trade was with St. Thomas. From the official 
tables of the United States Treasury for the 
fiscal year ending the 30th of Juna, 1866, num- 
bers eleven and twelve, the tonnage of vessels 
which cleared during that year from our ports 
to the Danish West Indies, and which entered 
our ports from the Danish West Indies, was 
40,693 tons, and this is esclusive of their ton- 
nage (far greater) connected with the ports of 
all other countries. Looking at Treasury table 
eleven, before referred to, I find that the ton- 
nage of the vessels which cleared from eur 
ports to the Danish West Indies, was greater 
than that to two-thirds of the countries given 
in the returns. It was greater than the tonnage 
to each of the following countries, namely: te 
Russia, on the Baltic and White seas, Asiatic 
Russia, Russian possessicms in North America^ 
Prussia, Sweden and Norway, Swedish West 
Indies, Denmark, Greenlapd, Holland, Dutch 
West Indies, Dutch Guiana, Dutch East In- 
dies, Gibraltar, Malta, British Honduras, 
British Guiana, Falkland Islands, British 
possessions in Africa, French North American 
possessions, French West Indies, French 
Guiana, French possessions in Africa, Spain 
on the Atlantic, Spain on the Mediterranean, 
Ca^ry Islandf, Philiippine Islands, San Do- 
mino, Portugal, Madeira, Azores, Cape de 
Verde Islands, Italy, Sicily, Austria, Austrian 
possessions in Italy, Turkey in Europe, Turkey 
in Asia, Liberia, other port^.in Africa, Vene- 
zuela, Uruguay, Buenos Ayres, Chili, Bolivia, 
other islands of the Pacific, and Japan. It was 
also greater, as shown by the same table, than 
the combined tonnage which cleared from our 
ports that year to all the following countries, 
namely: Prussia, Sweden and Norway, Swedish 
West Indies, Denmark, Falkland Islands, San 
Domingo, Portugal, Madeira, Austria, Turkey 
in Europe, Turkey in Asia, Bolivia, and Japan. 
From the table accompanying the report of 
the Secretary of the Treasury, schedule E, I 
find, from the returns of all our consulates, 
there were more of our destitute seamen that 
year sent back from St. Thomas to our ports, 
than from each of four-fifths of all the others; 
more than from Liverpool, and the same num- 
ber as from London. I find, also, that the to- 
tal tonnage from all the ports of the world of 
the vessels trading with St. Thomas, for the 
year 1850, was 285,843 tons; exclusive of the 
British mail steamers, of which there were 
live semi-monthly lines, and one monthly last 
year. 

In addition to these were the French, Span- 
ish, and Venezuelan lines of steamers, each 
making two trips monthly to St. Thomas, and 



the United States and Brazil steanaship line of 
steamers makes one trip monthly. Thus this 
tonnage which arrives at St. Thoma'fe (accord- 
ing to Treasury table No. 18, for the fiscal year 
-ending 30th June, 1866,) was greater than the 
whole tonnage registered and enrolled for any 
district in the United States, except New York, 
and, including the British mail steamers which 
stop at St. Thomas, greater than the combined 
tonnage of the district of Boston and Balti- 
more, and nearly half that of New York. It 
will at once be seen, with such an island in our 
possession, how great weuld be the consump- 
tion of American coal there, and our other 
products, including supplies for vessels. 

England has always interposed to defeat our 
policy of extension, as she now does, through 
the British press, if not th<^ British ministry. 
We know with what pertinacity she opposed 
the extension of our boundaries in framing the 
treaty of peace in 1783. The same opposition 
was repeated upon the acquisition of Louisiana 
in 1803. Indeed, it is an historical fact that, 
but for the celerity and secrecy with which that 
treaty was made, and the prempt action, of 
Napoleon the First and of our own Government 
in its execution, England would have seized 
and retained Louisiana, to preveft its falling 
into the hands of the United States. The 
same deadly hostility to our territorial ex- 
pansion was again exhibited in 1844 and in 
1845, upon the question of the reannex- 
ation of Texas. The confidential documents 
published by order of the Senate of the 
United States, demonstrate these facts : that, 
with a view to defeat the acquisition of 
Texas, she offered vast advantages to that 
republic. These were to repeal, so far as Texas 
was concerned, the heavy duty she then im- 
posed upon raw cotton. Second. To loan her 
five millions of dollars in gold at a very low 
rate of interest. Third. When tlie danger of 
reannexation became imminent, she actually 
interfered, while negotiations were pending be- 
tween Texas and the United States, and secured 
-the consent of Mexico to recognize the indepen d- 
ence of Texas, upou condition that she would 
never annex herself to ihis country. Had 
she thea succeeded, as the official documents 
demonstrate, Texas would soon have become a 
cotton colony of England. We all know how 
she availed herself of our war with Mexico to 
deprive us of our lightful* territory of Oregon 
north of the 49th parallel. Her course during 
the late rebellion was marked by persevering 
efforts to destroy our commerce and to divide 
the Union. And now her press opposes our 
purchase of St. Thomas, and indicates with un- 
erring certainty that, in the event of the rejec- 
tion of this treaty, she will immediately pur- 



chase that island herself. And are we indeed 
so poor, and ha,ve we fallen so low, that we 
cannot purchase a single West India Island, 
necessary as it may be to us as a depot for 
coal, as a naval and commercial station, and 
for the protectipn of our commerce with South 
America, and of our coastwise trade with the 
Pacific by the way of the Isthmus of Panama. 
If we refuse to purcUase St. Thomas on the 
ground of our poveriy, it is a proclamation of 
bankruptcy to all the world. lif we will not 
thus prepare to defend our foreign and coast-" 
wise trade, in case ol another war with Eng- 
land, let us' indulge no longer in empty de- 
clamation as to enforcing the Alabama claims, 
or the rights of our adopted citizens in for- 
eign countries. A single act, such as the pur-' 
chase of St. Thomas, will do more for the 
peaceful settlement of all these coutroversies, 
than a thousand spetches, however truthful or 
eloquent. It is said we have defended our 
commerce heretofore without coal depots, but 
this was when we were engaged in wars before 
the era of steam upou the ocean. *But surely 
we cannot have forgotten, that, during the late 
rebellion, a few coufederate steam cruisers like 
the Alabama, in so short a period, destroyed 
our commerce, and we will profit by the sad 
experience. We know, that besides her hun- 
dred coal depots, England has alliances with 
France and other European Powers, which 
might furnish her with great facilities In their 
ports, which, under various pretexts, might 
be denied to us. Surely we cannot rely 
upon the friendship or neutrality, so far 
as their ports are concerned, of European 
monarchies, in case of another war with Enir- 
land. Let us take timely warning, ere it is too 
late, that, in the abfeuce of such American 
depots, another conflict upon the ocean, so far 
as the destruction of commerce is concerned, 
would be most perilous and unequal. Whilst 
from these depots, scattered all over the world, 
England could send her swift steamers to 
sea, capture her prizes, return with them short 
distances to port, take iu coal, and proceed upon 
new cruises, how would we accomplish the same 
purpose ? Where would we take our prizes, or 
where would we receive coal and other sup- 
plied; or, must we return home, thousands of 
miles, for all these purposes? It is q.lear, under 
existing circumstances, in such a conflict, that, 
whilst the British stea^iers cruise but hundreds 
of miles, we must make thousands, thus in- 
creasing indefinitely the depredations upon our 
commerce. It is then manifest, that, the revo- 
lution in naval warfare, by the introduction of 
steam, as exhibited by the achievements of the 
Alabama, demonstrates, that, if wc mean to 
defend our commerce and protect ourcomm;r- 



10 



cial marine, coal and naval Jepots are indis- 
pensable. 

But it is said we can purchase tlie bay of Sa- 
mava from San Domingo at a lower price than 
we give for St. Thomas. Undoubtedly, the pur- 
chase of this great bay would be vAy import- 
ant, but it would not answer the purposes to be 
accomplished by St. Thomas. In the first 
place, a position on this great bay, (a part of a 
very large island,) cannot be made impregnable 
like St. Thomas, especially against a land at- 
tack. Second. It is not so directly upon the 
track of our commerce as St. Thomas. This is 
proved by Treasury table No. 11, showing, 
that, the tonnage of the vessels clearing from 
our ports for the Danish West Indies, was more 
than twelve times that clearing for the whole 
Republic of San Domingo, including the bay of 
Samana. This great bay, in our possession, 
together with St. Thomas and St. John, would 
aid and accelerate our acquisition of all the 
West, Islands and the Isthmus of Darien and 
Panama. That a paajority of the people of 
these islands are of the colored races, con- 
stitutes with me no objection whatever. 
England has more than thirty ^Vest India 
islands, although she is a far distant Eu- 
ropean monarchy. L'nder these circum- 
stances, is it too much that, upon our conti- 
nent and in our own immediate neighborhood, 
we should have two or three coal depots in the 
West Indies? 

It is my duty to say, that the views expressed 
in this letter, are exclusively my own, and 
that I do not know whether the President or 
Secretary of State, or any member of the Ad- 
ministration, concurs in these opinions. My 
conviction of their truth is most profoundand 
undoubted, and hence I have promulgated and 
discussed them, believing that it is the duty of 
every American to maintain and advocate all 
such just measures which deeply concern the 
interest of his country. In taking a retrospect 
of the past, whether in public or in private 
life, whether residing North or South, I have 
never entertained any sectional views, or ex- 
pressed any opinions but those which embrace 
the welfare of the whole nation. In the closing 
sentences of my Texas letter of the Sth of Jan- 
uary, 1S14, 1 say: "The Union and all its parts, 
fV they are all aportionof our common country, 
I love with the intensity of filial afi'ection; and 
never could my heart conceive or my hand be 
raised to execute any project which could efleet 
Its overthrow. I have ever regarded the disso- 
lution of this Union as a calamity equal to a 
second fall of mankind; not, it is true, intro- 
ducing, like the first, sin and death into the 
world, but greatly augmenting all their direful 
.■iiiiuences.-"' This settlemewt has ruled my 



action through life. It is true, my Texas let- 
ter of the. Sth of January, 1844, was falsely 
represented as a mere effort to extend slavery, 
but the vote in favor of that measure, o-f the 
people of New York, Pennsylvania, and a ma- 
jority of the free' States, and of many of the 
slave States against it, proved how unfounded 
was that assertion. Speaking of slavery in 
that letter, I say: " Again, then,_the question 
is asked, is slavery never to disappear from the 
Union? This is a startling and momentous 
question; but the answer i&easy and the proof 
is clear; it will certainhj discq^j^ear if Texas is rt ■ 
annexed to the Uidon — beyond the Del Norte 
slavery will not pass; not ouly because it is 
forbidden by law, but because the colored race 
there preponderate in the ratio of ten- to one 
over the whites; and, holding, as they do, the 
Government and most of the cflices in their 
possession, they will never permit the erfslave- 
ment of any portion of the colored race, which 
makes and executes the laws of the country."" 
In that same letter I said: "I have not thus- 
contrasted Texas and Oregon with a view to 
oppose the occupation of Oregon;"" for I have 
always been the ardent friend of that measure. 
I advocated it in 4 speech published (February 
1833.) long before I became a member of 
the Senate; and now, since the death of 
the patriotic and lamented Lynn, I am the- 
oldest surviving member of the special com- 
mittee of the Senate which has pressed upon 
that body for so many years the immediate 
occupation of the whole territor.y of Oregon. 
There,>upou the shores of the distant Pacific 
if my vote can accomplish it, shall be planted 
the banner of the Union, and with my con- 
sent never shall be surrendered a single point 
of its coast, an atom of its soil, or a drop 
of all its waters. But while I am against the 
surrender of any portion of Oregon, I am also 
against the resurrender ©f the territory of 
Texas ; for, disguise it as we may,it 1,6 a case 
of res?(n'e«(4cv, when it once was all our own, 
and now again is ours, by the free consent of 
those to wham it belongs, already given, 
and waiting only the ceremony of a formal ac- 
ceptance!" These views I maintained with 
great earnestness, from first to la'st, in the 
Cabitfetof Mr. Polk, advocating the retention 
and annexation of the whole of Mexico after 
the conquest, and opposing«the treaty by which 
so.large anc^ important a portion of Oregon 
was surrendered. Has not time verified the 
trbth of/my statement in the Texas letter, that 
"beyond the del Norte slwery ivill nUpass f-- 
and, is it not now also clear, that, if we had re- 
tained and annexed the whole of Mexico, all 
the States carved out of it would have been 
free Slates, and that thus, as described in my 



11 



letter, "slavery would slowly and gfradually 
disappear without a convulsion ?" Aud may 
I not DOW ask the North, as well as the 
South, whether such an extinction of slavery 
would not have been infinitely better, rather 
than the terrible civil war, with all its dread- 
ful sacrifices of blood and treasure, and all the 
perils from which the country has not yet been 
rescued ? May 1 not also further ask whether 
time has not justified my opposition in the 
■Cabinet of Mr; Polk to the surrender of any 
portion of Oregon. 

Indeed, when we look at the map ef our two 
eoutinents ann dependant isles, the City of 
Mexico is the centre of the whole system. 

In the letter of the 3.d of March, 1845, of the 
late James K. Polk, tendering me the office of 
Secretary of the Treasury, he enclosed me 
his proposed inaugural address, discussing the 
Oregon and Texas questions, in which letter 
he said: "If, sir, you concur with me in these 
opinions and views, I shall be pleased to have 
your assistance in my Administration as a 
member of my Cabinet, and now tender to you 
the office of Secretary of the Treasury. I shall 
be pleased to receive your answer at your 
earliest convenience." In toy reply of that 
date to Mr. Polk, accepting this tender, I said: 
"The reannexation of Texas, in the mode pro- 
posed in my letter of 8th January, 1844, may 
be regarded as nearly consummated. The 
kindred measure referred to in that letter — 
namely, our just and rightful claim to the 
ii'hole of Orcijmi — will, I trust, be successfully 
asserted by you. This wo#d leave no European 



Power upon o*r r««ffio coaat except Russia, 
whose well-known friendship to us would, it is 
hoped, induce her thea to cede to us her North 
American territory.*' 

This correspondence nee<ls no cbmments. 
It is due, however, to my late excellent friend 
and chief, James K. Polk, to say that he was 
most sincerely desirous of retaining the whole 
of Oregon, aud only abandoned it, when he 
arrived at the conclusion that Congress would 
not sustain him in the measure. I thought 
otherwise, and that, if defeated, we should 
appeal from Congress to the people in the then 
approaching elections. In consideration of 
the peculiar circumstances and unfriendly 
feelings growing out of my connection with 
the Kansas questi6n, it is due to the then 
Secretary of State to say, that he yielded with 
great reluctance to the sacrifice of any portion 
of Oregon. Mr. Polk was a mo5t able, honest, 
and patriotic man. He was a devoted friend 
of the Union, and entirely free from all sec- 
tional prejudices. Had he survived, he would, 
if possible, have prevented the secession of 
Tennessee, and in any event he would have 
supported the Union. He never believed in 
the divinity or perpetuity of slavery. Like 
myself, he supported all the constitutional 
rights of the South, but never regarded seces- 
sion as among the number. * 

A perusal of this letter will, it is hoped, con- 
vince all who read it, that, in advocating the 
acquisition of Alaska, St.. Thomas, and St. 
John, I am adhering to my life-long principles. 
R. J. Walkei:. 



CimONICLE PRINT.. WASHINGTON, D. C. 



HI 03 79 -^ 



